Gastroenterology Specialists of Frederick

We make every effort to see you at your scheduled time.  Occasionally, when emergencies or hospital delays occur, we will request your patience.  We do attempt to contact you to advise of any delays, so please make sure you have supplied us with the best contact number.  If you have to cancel an office appointment due to unavoidable circumstances, we request notification at least 48 hours in advance.  If you have to cancel a procedure appointment due to unavoidable circumstances, we request notification at least 5 days in advance. This will allow us to use those times for other patients who are waiting to be scheduled. Please contact the office at 301.663.9440.

A missed appointment fee may be charged if you do not provide the courtesy of proper notification when canceling an appointment.

In the event of inclement weather, please call the office at 301.663.9440 before coming in, to find out if the practice is open or will remain open.  If you are having a procedure, check with the endoscopy center at 301.668.1600.  Generally, the endoscopy center will remain open for procedures, unless the weather is extremely severe.

A physician can be reached by dialing our office number and following the prompts to reach the physician on call.  Emergencies will generally be covered by one of our providers or by one of two board-certified gastroenterologists who share call with us.  Please call the office during normal business hours for help with routine questions.

If for some reason, you are unable to reach the physician on call,  please call the Frederick Memorial Hospital Operator at 240.566.3300 and ask the operator to page the provider on call for our group.

When Hospitalization is unavoidable, our physicians have active privileges at Frederick Memorial Hospital.

All visits are by appointment only.  If you have registered and submitted forms online through our Patient Portal, you will need to arrive 15 minutes early to complete the process for check-in.  Patients who do not fill out forms prior to their appointment  should plan to arrive 30 minutes prior to the appointment time in order to complete the pre-appointment paperwork, which will assist us in staying on time. Patients late for appointments or those who have not completed the registration forms by the appointment time may require rescheduling to another time. To schedule an appointment, please call the office at 301.663.9440.  Our hours of operation are Monday – Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm.  Our phones are turned over to service at 4:45pm.

Please be advised that you will be considered a patient of this practice only after you have been evaluated by one of our physicians/ providers in our office or our endoscopy center.  Neither the submission of any registration documents, nor the scheduling of an initial appointment, establishes that you are a patient of this practice.

Please bring your current insurance card and picture identification with you to each visit.

Please help us to help you by understanding the extent of your insurance coverage for office visits and procedures that you anticipate in the course of your care with our physicians. A list of Insurances with which we participate is located in the Patient Resource section of the website.

Please assist us by providing the following information at the time of your consultation:

• Patient Registration Forms ( online submission of forms or printed and completed forms)
• Insurance card(s) and photo identification
• Insurance referral, if needed, for your plan
• Pertinent lab work, radiology reports, office notes from your primary care physician
• Your personal calendar, to assist you in scheduling times for any testing or procedures

Providing lab work, radiology reports, and office notes from your primary care physician will make your initial visit more productive, as the records are helpful to the provider evaluating your condition.  You may have your primary care doctor fax these to our office at 301.663.4602, or bring them with you to your visit.

At your consultation, your provider will discuss your condition and present treatment recommendations.  The provider will review your medical history, medications you are taking, answer your questions, and if having a procedure, will discuss what you can expect and provide instructions to prepare for the procedure.  Please check the Patient Education page to learn more about the procedure you have scheduled or are planning to schedule. You may also want to check our FAQs, or specific information on gastrointestinal conditions.

We are committed to providing you with the best possible care.  If you have medical insurance, we want to help you receive your maximum allowable benefits.  In order to achieve these goals, we need your assistance and your understanding of our payment policy.

You MUST present your valid insurance card at the time of service.  If you do not have your insurance information or we are unable to verify coverage, payment is due in full for the services rendered to you that day.  It is your responsibility to bring updated referral forms from your primary care physician, if needed, in order for claims to be processed.

As a courtesy to you, our billing staff can help with any questions you may have about your insurance coverage. Please call our office at 301.663.9440 and press option 5 during normal office hours.

Please realize that your insurance is a contract between you, your employer, and the insurance company.  We are not a party to that contract.  While the filing of insurance claims is a courtesy we extend to our patients, all charges are the responsibility of the patient from the date the services are rendered. While we may provide you with estimates of your out- of- pocket expenses based on direct or historical information from your insurance company, the verification of all insurance benefits, copay and deductibles is the responsibility of the patient.

Our billing office will obtain pre-authorization if required by your insurance plan.